Iron Widow

Well, it was better than I thought it would be. As my book club has started talking more about the four doorways of reading (Character, Plot, Setting, Writing), I'm coming to realize more and more that without that Writing doorway, I just have a hard time getting into a book.

This book is extremely cinematic in a way that if it was an anime or graphic novel where I could actually see the Chrysalises and watch the battle scenes, I'd probably be pretty into it. The ruthless female anti-hero is a trope that I'm glad is gaining more traction. In the romance aspects of the book,<spoiler>the pro-poly anti-love triangle take is a great way to turn YA fiction on its head even if the Shimin/Yizhi romance didn't really get enough attention to feel at all believable.</spoiler>

So plot and character-wise, it's pretty good. The world-building is all right too. I think it's just the language including occasional modern phrases that feel so anachronistic to the setting that grated on me. The ending also was pretty abrupt and included so much new information that felt rushed to me. So I don't know. I think it's a good book that just wasn't really for me. It is a shame that it was disqualified in the Hugo debacle this year because as literature aimed at a young adult audience, I think it is making some very important moves and deserved that recognition.

CW: foot binding, scenes of violence and abuse, suicide ideation, discussion and references to sexual assault (though no on-page depictions), alcohol addiction, and torture.

This book has been one of my most anticipated releases of this year and I was so excited to finally get to it. However, this turned out to be a surprisingly bumpy ride but ultimately, I think it was worth the wait.

I definitely had too many expectations from the book, probably a bit different than what the book actually was too. But truly understanding the author's words about her book helped in tempering my idea of what it was gonna be and I went in with an open mind. I still can't believe that this is YA because while it had the coming of age element, the story is brutal in many ways. The writing is very fast paced but it does take some time to get going, and I kept putting it down after reading a few chapters. But once the halfway mark passed, I got through the whole thing in a single setting. The plot itself is pretty straightforward and simple, and has lot of action sequences involving mecha fights - which were quite new for me because I'm totally unfamiliar with manga or anime. I can't say the world building was a strong point here, but the ending has a pretty unexpected revelation, and I think we'll get more of this world's history in the sequel. The author also sprinkles the text with many popular names from Chinese history and classic literature, so if you're familiar with those, you might find the references a lot of fun. I had read about Tang Dynasty a little when I watching the drama The Long Ballad and I had also gotten some background about the only empress of China, so finding those characters here and understanding how the author interspersed their real life events with her plotline felt very interesting.

But what stays through after finishing or even while reading the book is this utter feeling of rage, especially as a woman. The author has mentioned multiple times that the patriarchal society in this book is inspired by the social classes and customs of ancient China, and while knowing that history might make us feel better for having made progress, reading about the fictional life of a poor young woman of the time from her own POV is devastating. The way women are expected to be submissive and brainwashed about their inferiority and duty since being born doesn't at all feel ancient, because haven't we all experienced some milder form of it even in our lives. So when the heroine of this book wants to destroy this world that has brought nothing but pain to her, I only wanted to cheer her on.

Wu Zetian is basically a young ball of rage. She is anger personified - anger at her family who don't actually care about her, only what honor or money or shame she can bring to them; anger at her society which forces her to live life in a predetermined box with rules and regulations, where she doesn't even have an illusion of choice. But I liked seeing her transform from someone only wanting revenge at the cost of her life, to someone who understood the nuances of people's actions, as well as using the limited power she has gained for the greater good. She is not the chosen one savior heroine we are used to seeing in YA fantasy - maybe she could have been in a kinder world - but here she is a destroyer and you can't actually fault her for her decisions.

Li Shimin and Yizhi are the two love interests and wow it's such a relief not being bogged down by a love triangle. Shimin's backstory is truly tragic and all his struggles and feelings of guilt really tug at your heartstrings. Yizhi on the other hand is a privileged young master, who probably hasn't encountered a lot of troubles in life despite not being the preferred son of his filthy rich father, but him turning out out to be a compassionate young man with a determined heart is a wonder. I found him to be the actual center of this poly triad and he really impressed me with everything he did. The romance doesn't feel out of place at all in this bloody vengeful story - more like the only good thing keeping the main characters tethered to their humanity.

There frankly aren't any other characters whom you can remember fondly in this book. You only feel emotions ranging from pity to loathing to fury depending on who it is, and it gives you immense satisfaction when some of them get their comeuppance.

In the end, this was a violent but entertaining read, maybe even a bit visceral and cathartic in how it left me feeling after I finished it. While taking down the patriarchy seems to be a common theme across many fantasy novels these days, I thought the abundance of historical and mythical figures, as well as the East Asian folklore inspired mechas were a unique and fun touch. And if you like it when women characters are allowed to express their most extreme feelings unapologetically, then you can't go wrong with this book.

This book was such a great premise. As soon as I started it, I loved the whole world and it gave me major Pacific Rim vibes which is fantastic since it is one of my favorite movies. I love when books jump right into the action and introduce the story and characters with a fast pace.

Pros:
- Amazing premise with fantastic imagery and strong world-building
- Unique storytelling and perspective
- Great diversity and inclusion in the story that is completely natural and works so well
- Strong female characters that do not put up with anyone treating them as less.

Cons:
- Mediocre middle and a story that lags as you go. This book started with so much potential that just completely fizzled out by about 1/2 through

I think this book will be perfect for a lot of people who want a unique world and action-packed plot. But for me the pacing had issues and my enjoyment decreased as I read the story. It started off so well but quickly fizzled out.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC

Didn't so much smash the patriarchy than slit it's throat and stand over it whilst it bled out!

I couldn't put this down and chomped it down in a matter of days. Great engaging and graphic writing.

The book description of a cross between Pacific Rim and Handmaid's Tale is fairly close, though in some ways I can see how this system came to be (women being treated as objects) based on our reality moreso. I suspect this is helped by the author using real Chinese history to inform characters and features of the story.

There's some pretty bleak stuff in there, and some refreshing views on relationships and status quo.

Really good stuff. Definitely reads like it would relate to the YA audience, but still very engaging for old dudes like me!

I'd put off reading this book for months because I didn't realize it was YA and was expecting a much harder read but when I finally got to it, I blasted right through because I was SO into it. This book moves fast and hits hard & heavy--Xiran didn't come to fuck around. They balance the tone & rating of YA with some very heavy topics phenomenally. It doesn't shy away from the horrors it discusses, but simultaneously never felt like it was crossing a boundary into Adult Fantasy. It completely impressed me all the way through, reading Mecha fights I could imagine like straight out of an anime, all the way to the polyamory which I knew about going in, but was still delighted by how it was portrayed and talked about by the characters. Absolutely cannot wait for the next book!

READ THIS BOOK. I repeat: READ THIS BOOK. Not all scifi appeals to me, but this one did. The polyam rep in place of the standard YA love triangle cliche, the violence that isn't too much but enough to make your heart race, the pacing, the plot, the characters...this novel is strong, and so much happens but none of it makes you dizzy or need to go back and read ten pages prior because it's muddled. No - this one is well-developed, well-paced, well-everything. Iron Widow #2 has me a DEDICATED reader.

This gets a 4 ⭐ Loved the character interactions, loved Wu Zetian!

But the last revelation didn't hit as hard as it should have, the epilogue had more action than the last act, and it took me 3 days to get through part 4.

— Spoiler Warning (for 3 different books) —

* The major revelation in the epilogue is literally the major revelation from (avert your eyes

YA with giant mechs. Not something I have really read anything on, so an intriguing and enjoyable read! This was essentially a critique of the patriarchy inherent within military hierarchies so has a fascinating dose of gender politics included within it too.

The basic set up is that some (alien?) invasion has taken place and humanity is fighting to survive using salvages mechs to counter the hordes of invading alien ones. These mechs require 2 pilots, with a yin and a yang seat for a male and female pilot. However, this frequently ends up as the male pilot draining the female one to power the mech - essentially the female pilots are acting as sacrifices to power the robots - except in a few cases where a balanced mech results.

Our lead character is angry about this. Her sister was killed by a pilot (and outside of a mech so the family did not get the pay off for the sacrifice) and she is determined to avenge her. She volunteers to be a pilot to try and get close enough to avenge her sister, but this leads to unintended consequences.

One elephant in the room is the annoying love triangle that YA authors seem contractually obliged to include in every story. It is present in this story too. Fortunately the action outweighs the usual whiney teenage angst here, but I do wish some YA books would avoid this trope as it almost invariably makes books less enjoyable for me.

This was my last subscription book from illumicrate as I have now cancelled the subscription - I was getting too many doubles and have some changes to my life situation meaning I want to be more focused on my reading goals. That said, I went out on a high as this was genuinely an enjoyable read.

Following Wu Zetian, we enter a distant world where these giant robots called the Chrysalises are the only ones that can defeat the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. Inspired by Ancient China, Chinese culture and history and China's only female emperor, Zhao creates a masterful sci-fi story with amazing world-building, an amazing set of characters, an equally stunning romance and of course masterfully weaving East Asia myth creatures. Zetian is a strong female character who, despite all the obstacles years of history and the society has put up against her, gets what she wants in the end and wins, despite it all. Following the premise of The Handmaid's Tale, the treatment of the girls in society will definitely open your eyes. Zetian is aided by two male characters who then are entangled at first, in a sort of love triangle typical in YA: both boys are in love with the girl and the girl has to choose. Zhao, on the other hand, puts an even better perspective on it: she makes it a polyamorous relationship, something rarely seen in YA but she weaves it into the story so incredibly well that you don't even need to blink twice.
I really enjoyed this book and Zhao's writing is so powerful and they really manage to capture female rage through Zetian because of the lies that the leaders have been telling the society. It is incredibly masterful, I loved all the characters and the story was so rich and imaginitive and definitely different than that of what I usually read. I didn't even realize it was 400 pages long, I just got sucked into it and now I want more tbh.
Thank you the publisher for sending an ARC in exchange of an honest review

Welcome To Your Nightmare!

Tbh i'm a sucker for alternate history/historical fiction type of story because of it's way to retell or bring up brand new story that would've happen and Iron Widow fits the criteria by having the only woman emperor in China, Emperor Wu Zetian, as the main protagonist in this futuristic nation called Huaxia with lots of intrigue and politics that happen in it.

I love how Xiran brought up the gender issues that happened in old China like misogynistic views about woman, beauty standards that make woman suffer (esp. binded legs) and concubines that are basically tools for men to succeed in a very realistic way and even though it maybe a bit controversial but some of it are still exist today whether you like it or not.

The characters are also written in a very solid way especially Shimin with it's background completely changed yet still manage to make me invested in the series and also MECHAS!!! THE MECHAS ARE AWESOME AND ALSO FROM THE FOUR SYMBOLS!!!

My inner Chinese History Geek side fills with joy 😹

In the end, Iron Widow is a book filled with potential and i hope i can read the sequel very soon!

p.s : So.... Zetian is basically Lelouch?

“It's hilarious. Men want us so badly for our bodies, yet hate us so much for our minds.”

When I first started reading this book, I wasn't sure I would like it. After finishing it, I am glad I stuck with it. At first it seemed like another “rich boy defies his family and saves the poor girl” trope but I was very wrong. If feminine rage could be shown through one book, I would pick this one. Moreover, it is not just feminine rage but discourse over government power and how twisted the action of those in power can be to keep control.

I loved the development of Zetian and her journey of discovering just how deep the corruption lies. Misogyny is the main theme in Iron Widow, and the men play their part well. Modelled off of real evil in our current world (the misogyny rooted in Chinese history and governments), they are truly some of the most terrifying villains I've read. At first you think the villain will be Yang Guang or Li Shimin, but the real villain is the corruption that runs deep through every law and legislation they have. Fortunately, Zetian is a badass and takes every moment to kick misogyny in the metaphorical (or not so) balls.

Once again I have started a series that I can't yet finish so I look forward to the sequel, Heavenly Tyrant, at the end of august this year

I was excited to read a fantasy book set in a Chinese based culture rather than the usual European culture found in most fantasy books. However I couldn't get past a certain event that happens early in the book, and was clearly going to have ongoing effects on the character. The descriptions are very evocative, which probably didn't help me in this case. And I could see the book turning into a great read.

The main problem I had with this book is that considering that it's in YA. I felt like all of the themes and character development were very shallowly done. I really liked the world and the whole polyamory relationship and how it developed but I found the dialogue very cheesy and the themes very on the nose and shoved in your face.
I would describe this book as angry feminism to the point that every chapter describes how men are oppressing women in this world or how FMC was angry that a male can do some things that she wants but can't do. While I did enjoy how unapologetic this book was in its messaging, it definitely wore on me as the book went on so it just became annoying by the end.

The book was kinda hard to get through at first but once you get a feel for what the story is coming about, it reads better.
I enjoyed the characters generally and found the poly rep pretty cool.
I'm excited to see where the next book takes us after the wild cliffhanger ending we get here. Fun book overall.

This could have been amazing if it had enjoyed a few more rounds of rewrites before publication. Characterizations are solid and the plot is intriguing with good thrust but the pacing is all over the place and the narrative lacks focus. It's very clearly a first novel; I am intrigued to read the sophomore effort.

4.5/5. Ancient China and wuxia in a dystopia sci-fi Starship Troopers kind of universe. This is every bit as engaging as the premise promises to be and I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it. I blazed through this one in record time and almost missed my train stop being so engrossed in it. It's been a while since a book has captured me this deeply.

This book is heavily influenced by Chinese mythology, literature, history, and culture, but it mixes this with a very 21st century view on things. I usually am not a fan when historical fiction comes with a protagonist who is very obviously a 21st century self-insert for the readers, but Iron Widow makes things work because it isn't historical fiction. In many aspects, it is a basically an AU, imagining what would happen if ancient China clashed with futuristic technology. We have foot binding existing at the same time as iPads, top knots and flowing sleeves with spaceships and aliens.

I was also a little worried that this book would take on a very ultra-feminist perspective on things, sort of “all women good, all men bad” which is a pitfall that I've seen so many books fall into. It does start off that way and goes on for a good part of the book as if it'd espouse that sort of black and white dichotomy but, without spoiling anything, I'm glad to say that things got a lot more complex than that by the end of the book and I appreciated it.

Wu Zetian is a pretty complicated character and I can't say that I like or dislike her entirely. She has a ton of conflicting ideologies but I suppose that's to be expected for an 18 year old teenager who has been thrust into big-scale situations. I'm also glad that she learns and while she doesn't end up like a completely different person by the end of the book, she begins questioning some of the fundamental beliefs that the book starts with.

The magic-tech system of the book is also pretty complicated and I wouldn't say I completely understood everything by the end of it, but enough to get the gist of the action.

This book also subverts all your usual YA tropes completely and thoroughly and I really appreciated that. I expected it to be certain ways going in and it completely went in another direction.

Some spoilery thoughts: This might be the first time I'm reading a polyamorous relationship and I'm actually really here for it. I loved the dynamic between the main three, and I loved their philosophy that three is more stable than two. I loved this little insight into this relationship, and was truly devastated when Shimin died - or did he? I did feel uncomfortable when they were driven to murder An Lushan and then subsequently the Black Tortoise couple and even Wu Zetian's family, even though they “had it coming”. I also laughed out loud at some parts referencing some cornerstones of Chinese history and culture, such as about Sun Wukong being a pilot going to retrieve some documents from the Western stronghold. Such a clever way of “retelling” Journey to the West.

The only reason why I'm not raving about this more is just because I'm writing this on a tired-feeling day. I'd strongly recommend this book to just about anyone, whether or not you're into sci-fi since that's what it's commonly categorised under. I'm very much intending to continue this series when the next instalment drops next year.

I picked up this book for the sole reason that the author's TikToks are funny and who doesn't love an author who can take themselves so unseriously that they'll sport a cow costume in their author picture? I had little to no idea what to expect and while it didn't have much humor it was definitely an interesting read with a lot of subtle references.

Endearing characters and interesting world, well worth the read even if just for the world building.

Review edited because I had initially used the wrong pronouns for the author.